#cucuza

[deathoftango]

Tango of the day: "Por eso vengo a cantar" (That's why I come to sing), written by Antonio Cantó and Jaime Vila, and perform by Cucuza Castiello & Moscato Luna, live at Bar El Faro in Buenos Aires. Lyrics:

http://www.hermanotango.com.ar/LetrasTangos/POR%20ESO%20VENGO%20A%20CANTAR.htm

[deathoftango]

Tango in Buenos Aires

While The Death of Tango takes a break, I do as well, walking around Buenos Aires and listening to as much tango as I can. I bring you now a sample of what I have been listening to so far. If you'd like more information about any or all of them, please contact me through this website.

Negro Falótico: http://www.negrofalotico.com

Accompanied by Aníbal Corniglio, he sang at Torquato Tasso this Wednesday from his traditional tango repertoire. His voice is clear and deep, and his message is simple and direct. You can listen to some of his music on his website.

Quiero 24: http://quiero24.com.ar/index.php/multimedia/musica/

A great reference by the great Lucio Arce (see below), Quiero 24 are a quintet made up of two guitars, a guitarrón, a bandoneón and a singer. Their songs are all composed by members of the group, and they mostly deal with contemporary social subjects. They organize the Valentín Alsina tango festival, as well as a monthly tango event in the same neighborhood, which airs worldwide via a Spanish radio station.

El Arranque: http://www.orquestaelarranque.com.ar/audioyvideo.php

This is probably **the** leading orchestra of today in tango music. They formed around the late '90s and have already performed worldwide, at locations including the USA, Italy and Japan. In addition to performing a classic tango repertoire, they write their own music. Furthermore, they are building the basis for the growth of the tango movement through several projects like the digitalization of the entire tango discography (an ambitious project led by Arranque bassist Ignacio Varchausky), the formation of the "orchestra school" led by the great Emilio Balcarce, and the re-discovery and re-arrangement of lost scores by Leopoldo Federico, leader of the orchestra that recorded most of the famous music of Julio Sosa.

I also saw musicians that I had seen before and that we have heard from at the show previously:

Cucuza & Moscato: http://www.myspace.com/cucuzatango

Lucio Arce: http://www.myspace.com/lucioarce

Osvaldo Peredo & Leandro Nikitoff: http://youtu.be/dHS3Wk1ials

All of this is really great music that is happening right now in Buenos Aires, and it's a great opportunity for us all to listen and see where tango will be moving in the next few years. Enjoy!

[deathoftango]

Ave Tango Festival

Last Sunday I was at the Ave Tango Festival in Buenos Aires. I saw two performances there. The first was Cucuza & Moscato, a singer-guitarist duo that I've played on the show before, and the second was Karina Beorlegui. Both were great, with Cucuza & Moscato doing a repertoire of old tangos from off-the-beaten-path, and Karina singing tangos and fados accompanied by Los Hermanos Gabino (her three guitarists). There was also a collaboration by Moscato and Karina, and El Negro Falotico sang Olvido accompanied by Moscato. I was very lucky to meet all of them personally that night, and they were really great. To give you an idea of how I felt when I met them, here is where I had previously heard of Karina Beorlegui:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWQSj3F52DI

That comes from a TV serial that aired last year in Argentina, which featured tango performances on almost every episode.

Then on Wednesday I saw Lucio Arce with Facundo Radice, la Yiyi, Damian Fontenla y Mario Gamarra at El Bar de Julio. It was really a special event, right in the heart of Buenos Aires, as the day was coming to a close. Later that night I met Pablo Jofre, who maintains the Heretic Video Library (Videoteca Hereje), so it's only appropriate that I finish with this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR67_PIAIIo